Tag Archives: Apple

Managing Customer churn as well acquiring new customers is an ongoing problem for all carriers... as such, they make it difficult for customers to switch providers. To this end, practically all carriers worldwide engage in 'false highly-persuasive' advertising. They will typically lure consumers with the offer of FREE smartphone and then hook, reel and lock them in with long term service plans that are designed to not only subsidize the cost of the cell phone but provide wireless voice & data services at premium prices. To further enforce customer loyalty, carriers lock their giveaway phones to only work within their network frequencies - thus making it difficult for consumers to leave them for another carrier.

In some cases, the programming may be easy to reverse, with the user simply reformatting the cell phone or removing the phone's memory card. In other instances, the phone may be designed in such a way that it is impossible to use it with another network, with most cell phone brands, like Apple, Blackberry, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, HTC, LG Mobile and Sony to name a few, manufacturing specific phones for particular networks.

In contrast, an unlocked phone are simply handsets that aren't handcuffed to a specific carrier's service package can be used on any network.

A cellphone handset is like a body without a brain. It can't make calls unless it has a thumbnail-sized chip called a SIM card installed. The SIM card identifies an individual phone on a cellular network so that calls can be routed to it as the handset is carried from place to place, so the owner's account can be billed for air time and long-distance fees, and so on.

When a phone is bought on a service plan, the SIM card in that phone is linked to the subscriber's ID information for billing. Most carriers lock the phone by programming its software so that it will only work with the SIM card they provide — try to swap it with a card from another carrier because it has a cheaper service plan, for example, and the phone won't recognize it.

An unlocked cellphone is one that will recognize any SIM card. So if you're travelling in Europe and don't want to incur roaming charges or have every local call billed as long distance by your regular North American cellphone carrier, you can buy a local European carrier's card during your stay and pop it into your regular phone.

The caveat is that there are two main cellphone networks, and they aren't compatible with one another. One is based on the CDMA standard, which is popular in North America and parts of Asia, and used by Bell and Telus in Canada. The other is GSM, which is used by Rogers in Canada and is the most common cellphone standard outside North America, used by more than 2 billion subscribers in most countries around the world.

An unlocked phone will work on a compatible network — CDMA phones on CDMA networks and GSM handsets on GSM networks. But many CDMA phones have the SIM card built in, and have to be reprogrammed directly to make the phone work on another carrier's network. Most GSM handsets, on the other hand, have a slot that allows a SIM card to be swapped easily by the user. As a result, unlocked cellphones available in Canada are predominantly GSM models.

For all its brand recognition and funding power, Microsoft has not seen a high adoption rate of its mobile software in the past. However, this year looks to be a new chapter in the company’s move to diversify its end point offerings from traditional PCs, notebooks, MacBooks, smartphones and tablets. This is being accomplished with partnering with companies like Nokia and BlueStack that will widen their customer base and mobile device sales.

Another recent move to accomplish this was bringing OneNote to Apple’s iOS and Android users will have the cloud-synced note-taking app at their disposal as well. Leveraging this popular organizational tool, Microsoft is spreading its net far by including Apple and Android. And, multi-mobile OS platform availability highlights the changing landscape of customers wanting the device, apps, and mobile OS of their choice which explains the increased popularity of unlocked smartphones.

Those with Android 2.3 or above can try out the app with 500 notes for free before having to shell out $4.99 to purchase the full version. With established competition like Evernote, Springpad and the up and coming Catch Notes, OneNote is a solid alternative where end users can edit tables synced from the desktop app and create to-do lists. Other features like photo notes, bulleted lists, check boxes and highlights make for a great experience even though custom tables cannot be made and synced.

Microsoft looks to be making its move with savvy and has a multi-pronged approach. So, we have yet to see what the Mobile World Congress will bring to continue this trend whether it is with accessories or other technology pairings. Whatever is brought to the table, we look forward to it!

We all agree that Apple’s iPhones are iconic. They have three models on the market compared to Android’s plethora of offerings with a multitude of manufacturers including the Samsung Galaxy S II, the HTC Amaze, the Motorola RAZR Droid and the LG Optimus 2X . But, Apple’s offerings have made it one of the most valuable companies in the world and has handed its partners a brilliantly branded and easily sold product. Add great activation figures every quarter for carriers that sell the smartphone and it sounds like a great partnership for both Apple and the carriers.

Alas, the reality paints more of a love-hate relationship. Carriers see the AT&T/iPhone exclusivity model and drool. No competition from unlocked phones, other carriers, and seemingly one-of-a-kind device fits into the highly controlled model carriers prefer. This explains why Sprint was willing to guarantee Apple $15.5 billion over four years to sell the iPhone. Then the mobile carrier posted a $1.3 billion financial loss last quarter. Then there is the bad blood with T-Mobile after failed negotiations over the iPhone which has resulted in the carrier offering iPhone users free microSIM cards to give up their 3G speeds and join their network.

Recently Nomura Securities analyst Mike McCormack told CNNMoney, “A logical conclusion is that the iPhone is not good for wireless carriers […] When we look at the direct and indirect economics that Apple has managed to extract from the carriers, the carrier-level value destruction is quite evident.” This can be seen with Verizon’s drop in EBITDA service margin from 46.4% to 42.2% since adding the smartphone to its arsenal last year. Whether iPad sales and service plans can make up for that remains to be seen. However, they should be able to leverage the equally iconic and addicting Apple accessories.

Alas, for now the iPhone is not going anywhere because of news like Sprint’s: best quarter in the past six years for net subscriber additions which can be attributed to the 720,000 new postpaid subscribers who changed to the carrier to get their hands on the iPhone. And by all accounts, the money should follow with increased price points and the newest iPhone release coming this year.

A recent CTO presentation I attended addressed the changing security landscape we are facing with consumerization - what I deem to be… (choice of our own devices for corporate and personal use from our smartphones to our tablets. This brought up the pros and cons of the various operating systems out there: iOS, Research In Motion, Android and Windows. The graphic associated with the Apple slide was a glass biosphere that was thriving and completely self-contained – the perfectly controlled environment.

This closed environment comes at a price: consumers have little control over their OS and the possibility of customizing to their needs. Requests for changes and customer gripes are eventually addressed. iPhone users now have MMS, multitasking, copy and paste and a full list of other revisions that also make our tablets and media players better. Unfortunately, one issue they haven’t fixed is control over alerts.

Just imagine an area in settings where custom alerts could be set. Different profile modes where the choice of ring, vibrate, volume, and ringtones can be chosen. Apple could take a page out of RIM’s book; BlackBerry cell phones have long had this kind of alert controls. And, there is room for improvement that could include location-based profile alerts (example, goes to silent in movie theatre) and the like. Perhaps hanit could connect in those settings to all devices on the platform including the iPad, iPhone, iPod, etc).

No matter if you’d like your Bluetooth turned off when you walk through the door at night or have different rings and notifications based on who is calling or texting, iOS users should have a bit more flexibility with their high-end devices. Moving to an iPhone from RIM and Android was challenging and this writer is still baffled that the handset is simply either “on” or on “vibrate.”

Research In Motion certainly isn’t competing at the same level as Apple in terms of handsets, accessories and projected sales these days, but this is one area where the Canadian company trumps the iPhone capabilities.

Android. Apple. Apple. Android. The mobile OS brands and their respective handset manufacturers are in the grip of a fierce, cyclical competition to be the best and win global mindshare. Which is why we follow the momentum and progress of their sales and innovation so closely. So how did the vendors stack up against one another? The usual culprits are present: Apple’s iPhone 4S and Samsung’s Galaxy S 2.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in December, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG Mobile with 20 percent share and Motorola with 13.3 percent share. Apple continued to gain ground in the OEM market with 12.4 percent share of total mobile subscribers (up 2.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 6.7 percent share.

Smartphone Platform Market Share

97.9 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in December, representing 40 percent of all mobile subscribers. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 47.3 percent market share, up 2.5 percentage points from September. Apple maintained its #2 position, growing 2.2 percentage points to 29.6 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 16 percent share, followed by Microsoft (4.7 percent) and Symbian (1.4 percent).

According to the another market research firm, The NPD Group, the top three best-selling smartphones in the United States of last quarter all came from Apple: the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4, and the iPhone 3GS (which consumers can receive at no cost when signing a contract at AT&T). Two of Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S II made the top 5 list as well. The availability of some of these handsets as unlocked devices likely contributed to their success as well.

When diving into the details of this buying behavior, NPD analyst, Ross Rubin, noted that customers are motivated by “a fast processor, improved camera and the Siri speech-driven agent, most iPhone buyers paid a premium for the iPhone 4S, making is the top-selling handset in Q4.” In fact, the latest iPhone 4S outsold its predecessor by a whopping 75% and lapped the iPhone 3GS by a ratio of five to one. Throw in an OS that ties in the number one selling tablets in the world and customer get hooked.

When looking at the mobile OS platform of choice amongst first-time smartphone buyers, Android won out with 57% - Apple only saw 34% of those first time buyers choose their solution.

Much as there are solid tech reasons for Apple’s great performance with the iPhone 4S, NPD’s Rubin also outlines the rationale of Android’s growth and popularity amongst first-time buyers. “Android has been criticized for offering a more complex user experience than its competitors, but the company’s wide carrier support and large app selection is appealing to new smartphone customers,” Rubin noted. “Android’s support of LTE at Verizon has also made it the exclusive choice for customers who want to take advantage of that carrier’s fastest network.”

Taiwan’s top smartphone manufacturer, HTC, cannot seem to catch a break when pitted against Apple’s iPhone 4S. The many patent cases that have flown between the two companies have mainly had judgments in Apple’s favor. Based on recent revenue reports, the trend seems to be continuing.

On Monday, earnings for the fourth quarter of last year were released and projections for the first quarter of this year that fall shy of industry expectations. When following the numbers, HTC has seemingly been stuck in second gear since Apple released the iPhone 4S.

To put it in hard numbers, HTC reported consolidated revenue of NT$101.42 billion (US$3.43 billion) for the fourth quarter of 2011, a drop of 25.33 percent from the previous quarter.
HTC also said its revenue may drop 31 to 36 percent sequentially to between NT$65 billion and NT$70 billion in the first quarter of 2012, as it is still undergoing a product cycle transition.

The news doesn’t look much brighter to kick of 2012. The expectation was that HTC would net $85 billion this quarter. Instead, the money looks closer to $64 billion.

So is the manufacturer going the way of Research In Motion (albeit without the bad-boy executive behavior and panache)? Well, that remains to be seen. New products are bound to be released in 2012 that could turn things around, but what how will those smartphones and tablets compare to the Apple competition. Their availability of 4G LTE and unlocked handset options could boost interest and sales as well.

Ah the Super Bowl – the height of both gridiron and consumerism competition. The game pits the top two football teams in the United States against one another - while advertisers bring out the big guns and vie for the attention of the millions of congregated viewers.

While the New York Giants battled it out with the New England Patriots, Samsung decided to take the offensive against Apple with a string of anti-Apple advertisements. The crowning moments was a 90-second commercial that cost a cool $10 million to snag the airtime. The following video is the Samsung's actual Apple bashing commercial aired during the Super Bowl.

The ad series pitches Samsung as the “cool” alternative to Apple’s iPhone; the Super Bowl commercial promoted their upcoming smartphone launch, the Galaxy Note, which will available at AT&T later this month. This device is also available as an unlocked cell phone, empower consumers with the freedom to choose the right carrier with the right service at the right price.

The premise of the 90 second clip is a scene of the now infamous Apple Store line where customers are waiting to buy the latest Apple device. “I believe in a thing called love” is the soundtrack and the grey scene is brought to life in the form of a block party with Samsung Galaxy Note devices falling from the sky like manna.

As the poster child of Android, Samsung is in a great position to compete with Apple. With its own line of Galaxy tablets, apps, and accessories, the South Korean vendor has converted its fair share of customers. These ads will certainly amp up interest in the upcoming launch which will be augmented with the Mobile World Conference this month where the best in docking stations, speakers, and other peripheral devices including glider gloves will help win over those consumers on the fence.

With the announcements at the recent CES - one has to wonder - what is 2012 the year of?” Will it be SmartTVs? Perhaps it’s the year of the interactive technology? Or maybe it is 4G LTE smartphones that will steal the spotlight this year. As of this early date, it is Android devices that look to have the competitive advantage this year. It very well could be a great opportunity to win over mind and market share, but they need to leverage the lead before Research In Motion (Blackberry) and Apple bring their own 4G LTE devices to market later this year.

What kind of growth are we looking at? According to DigiTimes who published 2012 estimates, Monday, they are anticipating between 4% and 5% of smartphones shipped this year will be 4G LTE capable. When reviewing their sources it is really clear that Android manufacturers are months ahead of the competition. Samsung, LG, Pantech, Motorola Mobility and HTC were named as industry players that will be launching 4G LTE handsets.

Depending on how quickly Apple and RIM work and how effective their messaging is, the gap could be quickly closed and the opportunity lost. More specifically, there is buzz around Apple’s to-be-released products this year, the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, which based on rumor will be 4G LTE capable.

One point this writer would like clarified is what the ramifications of this technology coupled with the race to get smartphones with the capability to use it will be. Will the current trend continue pattern of “sign long-term contract with service provider, get free smartphone"? Or will we be able to break free from this carrier imposed yoke with unlocked cell phones that will empower us to choose our preferred service provider and negotiate a service contract that best meets our interactive needs at the right price!

Only time will tell what the implications will be. At the moment, 4G LTE has not been well-explained to the public and is potentially cost inhibitive. So, without a little tweaking it may turn out to not be the year of the 4G LTE network after all.

Get excited iBooks users! The iOS jailbreak known as Corona that was released last month for the iPhone4S and iPad is now updated to support Apple’s e-reader, iBooks. Be sure to get your updates though, as it is the build for version iOS 5.0.1.

But what does this new jailbreak upgrade mean for your Apple experience? While not as gratifying as playing with a new acquisition from the phenomenal family of accessories for each of the tablet, iPod media device and smartphones that will be covered by this new software update, it could address some of the issues occurring during browsing sessions on these same devices.

Because if you have experienced the launcher crashing on occasion, it is this upgrade that will doctor it up. There are some other bugs that will be fixed as well, but the addressed launcher is the biggie (for the really technical of you out there, the build is also included in redsn0w 0.9.10b4). So, with this update you need not fear having to remove your favorite Apple handset or tablet from its cozy protective case to play tech detective.

For those of you who already have jailbroken iPhone4 or iPad devices, Corona can be found and run through the Cydia store. Another option is downloading the updated OS X for Windows version (redsn0w) which will have the same impact.

And if you do not yet possess this untethered jailbreak, you can find more information on compatibility for iPhone 3GS, iPhone4, the first generation iPad, iPod Touch 3G and the iPod Touch 4G. Clearly this development team has been hard at work to bring this jailbreak technology to Apple’s various device offerings of smartphones, tablets and media players. Now, if we can keep that open concept movement to empower customers at other levels of purchasing and freedom of customization, amazing innovation is in the works.

Since the release of the first iPhone in 2007 I have been jail breaking the iphone. I have been caught up in conversation many times about the ability of the iPhone. When I referred to the iPhone it's often hard for me to perceive it without being able to include the many Cydia applications I use with the wonderful IOS operating system.

Many people have often looked at me as if they were very confused, and say. What is jailbreaking? This is the single most question I am asked when discussing the iPhone. I have thought long and hard on the simplest way to explain jailbreaking to a person who does not understand what it is at all about. To this nd, I have crafted the following jailbreaking overview So I have tried to think about this as elementary as possible to facilitate reader understanding.

Jailbreaking allows the iPhone or other idevices such as the iPad and iPod user more freedom. When Apple developed the iPhone in their mega-billion-dollar factories, the developers, at their own discretion determined what we could and could not do with our iphones. That is a decision , I do not agree with that in any terms. Like many people I paid for this product with my personal money and believe that I should be able to decide on changing its appearance or the sounds it makes when it rebooting. Yet in 2008 or 2009 jailbreaking your iPhone was declared illegal.

Jailbreaking allows the user to download third-party applications from a store called Cydia. In this store many developers have been denied the chance to sell their application in the ” Apple store". Many of the applications in the Cydia store are better applications than many I have downloaded from the Apple store. That being said these applications are hosted on repositories which are sources in the Cydia store. These applications have gone through a screening process as the Cydia operators are stand up characters and would not ruin their reputation by enabling applications that are unethical or damaging to your device.

I have often had many people argue that they were afraid to download the applications from Cydia because they weren't signed from Apple. There is a huge open source environment on the web... wherein different developers collaborate together to create new or enhance existing application with more powerful features. As such, just because an application does not originate from Apple it does not mean it hasn't been fully screened or the code has not gone through an extensive testing process to filter or eliminate viruses.

Many of the applications from Cydia are just small tweaks. Such as, being able to swipe the status bar to open what's called SB settings. Inside Sbsettings you can control Bluetooth, reboot, and much more. This is just an example of some of the applications that are available in Cydia. Also in Cydia you can download themes for your idevices. What I mean by theme is you can change the physical appearance of the iPhone. Whether it’s the size of the icons or the color of the status bar and much more. Needless to say, the question, What is Jailbreaking? could revoke a 500 page book. I'm trying to do it in just a few paragraphs. So to putt short and sweet. Jailbreaking allows the user to download third-party applications and themes. This will allow the user to use their phone however they wish. If you want to open the settings menu by swiping the status bar, that can be accomplished. There are many great applications and tweaks inside Cydia. Since this article is about what is jailbreaking? I am going to include a few must have applications from Cydia.

Top Must Have Cydia Applications :

· SBswitcher a tweak for iOS which will basically add a new pane over the multi-tasking pane, which will allow you to bookmark nine of your most-used apps. Now this new pane will allow a very quick access to all your favourite apps. This app also gives you an easy access to a few of your System Settings. Bundled with its core feature, this app is definitely worth $0.99. Props to the developer Tolani. He has added in the release notes that this tweak is not yet available for iPad but should be soon.

· Activator-Free- add gestures to open application.

· Infiniboard-$1.99Vertically scroll the springboard. Addis many applications as you wish to each page. No limits

· Packagebackup-$7.99 Simple way to save your Cydia application in one centralized location. Should you need to do are store simply do so with a couple clicks.

· iFile $4-Great way to SSH into the device without connecting to a computer. Do things such as change icons to much more advance task.

· Springtomize$2.99- This application has over 50 tweaks inside it. You can change the color of status bar, size of icons, change carrier, and more.

· Winterboard- FREE This is how you add themes to the device for changing its physical appearance. You can also add themes to the lock screen, change reboot sounds. This application is free however many of the themes are paid.